Top 31 Worst And Deadliest Floods Ever In US History
By: 911 Water Damage Experts
Did you know: Floods are the world’s most common natural disaster.
They are often caused by heavy rainfall, rapid snowmelt or a storm burst from a cyclone or tsunami in coastal areas. Floods can destroy homes, entire cities, and even kill, with drowning accounting for 75% of the deaths that happen in floods.
Below, we highlight the deadliest ever recorded in US history.
Let’s dive right into it.
1. Big Thompson Canyon Flood
The Big Thompson Canyon Flood in Big Thompson Canyon, Colorado, remains Colorado’s deadliest natural disaster.
In the course of a four-hour storm in 1976, the area saw over 12 inches of rainfall – 75% of what would typically fall in a year.
This storm and subsequent flooding came at the cost of $156.3 million and 144 lives.
2. Johnstown Flood
The Great Flood of 1889, also known as The Johnstown Flood, struck on May 31, 1889, when the South Fork Dam failed.
After heavy rainfall over several days, 14.55 million cubic meters of water was released from the dam.
The flood resulted in the deaths of over 2,200 people and resulted in around $484 million of damage in today’s money.
3. Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey tore through Houston, Texas, in 2017, resulting in 89 fatalities and damages totaling $126.3 billion.
The devastating category four hurricane was the first major hurricane to make landfall in the US since Hurricane Wilma’s arrival in 2005 and was the wettest tropical cyclone in recorded US history.
4. Mill River Dam Failure
Source: New York Public Library
In 1874, 139 people lost their lives when the Mill River Dam in Western Massachusetts failed. The dam wiped our four towns within an hour.
Mill owners and engineers were responsible for the disaster, but no one was held to account. It was the first human-made dam disaster and one of the worst of the 19th century.
5. Buffalo Creek Flood
Source: The Herald-Dispatch copyright 1999
In February 1972, West Virginia saw one of its worst disasters, the Buffalo Creek Flood. A coal waste dam that had been built to hold silt, water, and coal waste, collapsed.
Over 130 million gallons of water and coal slurry cascaded down into a narrow valley. While the financial cost is not known, the flood resulted in 125 fatalities.
6. Aleutian Islands Earthquake – Pacific Tsunami
Source: Pacific Tsunami Museum
When an 8.6 earthquake struck Aleutian Islands, Alaska, in 1946, it caused a Pacific-wide tsunami.
With waves reaching heights of up to 130 feet, it caused significant damage throughout Alaska and Hawaii. The earthquake and subsequent flooding came at the cost of $334.1 million and 165 lives.
7. St. Francis Dam Failure
Source: United States Geological Survey
One of the worst American civil engineering disasters of the 20th century was the St. Francis Dam failure.
On March 12, 1928, the large concrete water storage reservoir for Los Angeles, California, failed. The resultant flooding killed 431 people.
Even today, this disaster remains the second-greatest loss of life in California’s history.
8. Hurricane Agnes Flood
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
In 1972, Hurricane Agnes swept across the eastern United States. She was one of the largest ever recorded and brought with her torrential rain and extensive flooding.
The financial cost and life toll were significant, with 128 people losing their lives and damages of $18 billion.
9. Great Dayton Flood
When flooding from the Great Miami River reached Dayton, Ohio, it caused the most significant natural disaster in Ohio’s history.
Known as the Great Dayton Flood, the 1913 flooding was caused by several days of rainstorms.
Up to 20 feet of water flooded downtown Daytona. The volume of water passing through the river channels equaled what the Niagara Falls would see in a month.
10. Black Hills Flood
The Rapid City Flood or Black Hills Flood in 1972 was one of the deadliest in United States history.
When 15 inches of rain hit the Black Hills in Western South Dakota, Rapid Creek and other waterways began to overflow.
Canyon Lake Dam became clogged up with debris and caused significant residential and commercial property damage. Over $978 million in damage was caused.
11. Los Angeles Flood
Source: United States Army Corps of Engineers
In 1938, Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties were affected by one of the largest floods in their history.
Two Pacific storms had swept across the LA Basin, which meant the area saw one year of rain in just three days.
Around 115 people lost their lives, and damages were calculated at around $1.42 billion.
12. Austin Dam Failure
The Bayless Dam, or Austin Dam, failed on September 30, 1911, causing devastation and loss of life.
The concrete gravity dam served the Bayless Pulp and Paper Mill and was the largest of its kind in Pennsylvania.
Around 78 people died, and $10 million in property damage was caused. Remains of the dam still stand, and there is a memorial for the victims in the Austin Dam Memorial Park.
13. Central Texas Floods
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In 1998, a storm and flood event ripped through South Texas and Southeast Texas on October 17 and 18.
Over 20 inches of rain fell in some parts of Southeast Texas, and 31 people died, mostly drowning.
The storm and flooding caused over $1.19 billion in damages.
14. Pittsburgh Flood
Source: Pittsburgh City Photographer
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Residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were witness to one of the worst floods in their history when torrential rain followed a cold winter.
Flood levels peaked at 46 feet, and 200 people lost their lives. Around 100,000 buildings were also destroyed, with damages of about $4.66 billion in today’s money.
After the flooding, construction of a dam got underway to prevent future floods of the same magnitude.
15. Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy, or Superstorm Sandy as it is also known, touched down in the New York metropolitan area on October 29, 2012.
The hurricane affected both New York and New Jersey and caused 233 people to lose their lives.
The resultant flooding and damage also cost $88.4 billion. It quickly became one of the most expensive weather events in United States history.
16. Heppner Flood
Picture: National Weather Service
In 1903, 324 people died when hard rain and hail in the Blue Mountains triggered a flash flood through Heppner, Oregon. Even today, it remains the deadliest natural disaster in Oregon and the second deadliest flash flood in the US.
After 15 to 50-foot walls of water cascaded down Willow Creek, much of Heppner was turned into rubble. The flash food came at the cost of around $17.1 million in today’s money.
17. Brazos River Flood
Cotton farmers in Freeport, Texas, often benefited from periodic flooding, but the flooding of 1913 was a different story.
On December 5 of that year, the area saw significant flooding that resulted in 177 deaths and damages of $88.7 million.
18. Connecticut Floods
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
One of the most horrific floods in Connecticut’s history was the 1955 flood resulting from back-to-back hurricanes.
These hurricanes saturated the land and river valleys.
Several towns were involved in the flooding from several rivers like Mad River, Still River, Farmington River, Quinebaug River, and Naugatuck River.
Property damage was estimated at more than $1.9 billion in today’s money, and 87 people died.
19. Hurricane Camille
What started as a tropical depression south of Cuba soon turned into the second-most intense tropical cyclone to hit the United States.
The category 5 hurricane touched down on the East Coast in 1969 and resulted in 259 deaths and close to $10 billion in damages.
The hurricane also flattened nearly everything along Mississippi’s coasts and caused additional flooding and storm surges of 24 feet.
20. Miami Hurricane
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
The Great Miami Hurricane was a tropical cyclone that caused extensive damage in Miami, the Bahamas, and the US Gulf Coast in 1926.
It generated about $235 billion in damages and resulted in upwards of 539 people losing their lives.
Both wind and water caused widespread damage and left thousands of people homeless.
21. Labor Day Hurricane
The Great Labor Day Hurricane, which is also called Hurricane Three, remains the most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall regarding pressure.
It caused high seas, gale-force winds, and storm surges of up to 20 feet over low-lying islands.
The cyclone and resultant damage and flooding caused around $1.9 billion in damages in today’s money. Around 500 people lost their lives.
22. Okeechobee Hurricane
One of the deadliest hurricanes in the North Atlantic basin’s recorded history was the Okeechobee hurricane of 1928. It also remains one of the third-deadliest in US history.
Not only did the Category 4 hurricane cause significant damage, but so did the flooding.
Heavy rainfall caused considerable devastation to homes, vegetation, and agriculture. All in all, there were over 4,110 deaths and damages of around $1.49 billion.
23. Great Flood of 1913
The Great Flood of 1913 got its name from the sheer level of devastation it caused to many parts of the United States.
Between March 23 and March 26, it resulted in 467 fatalities and property damage of around $82.4 billion.
The flooding resulted from central and eastern US rivers flooding from several days of rain. From this catastrophic flooding event, around a quarter-million people were left homeless.
24. Great Mississippi Flood
The Great Mississippi Flood was the most destructive river flood in US history.
It covered 27,000 square miles and reached depths of up to 40 feet. Heavy rain kicked off this summer event in Mississippi’s central basin, with tributaries in Iowa and Kansas reaching capacity.
Flooding affected Tennessee, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and Oklahoma. Around 500 people died, and damages were estimated to be between $246 million and $1 billion.
25. Sea Islands Hurricane
Near Savannah, Georgia, on the Sea Islands, a significant hurricane struck in 1893. It remains the seventh deadliest in US history and killed an estimated 2,000 people.
Damage was reported as far as Maine, and Baltimore reported its worst flooding since 1869 as a result.
Roofs were even lifted off large buildings, and waves topped seawalls at 15 feet high. The Category 3 hurricane came at the cost of $1 million, which is around $29 million in today’s money.
26. Ohio River Flood
Source: US Army Corps of Engineers
The Ohio River Flood of 1937 could not have come at a worse time. With federal and state resources stretched from the Great Depression, the US was tested to its limits.
The Ohio River Flood caused widespread damage from Pittsburgh to Cairo in Illinois. Over one million people were left homeless, 385 people died, and damages came at the cost of around $8.7 billion.
27. San Antonio Floods
Soure: Weather Prediction Center
Areas of Mexico and parts of Texas were significantly affected by flooding caused by the remnants of a Category 1 hurricane.
It started on September 4, 1921, and caused high rainfall of around 40 inches near Thrall, Texas, and 36 inches in Williamson County.
Downtown San Antonio was devastated by around nine feet of water. These rainfall totals set nationwide records and caused around $70 million in damage. About 215 people also died.
28. Willamette Valley Flood
The Willamette Valley Flood formed part of the larger Pacific Northwest series of floods in 1996. It was the largest flood in Oregon but spread to Willamette Valley and then on to the Oregon Coast and east to the Cascade Mountains.
The floods were directly responsible for around eight deaths and $500 million in damages.
29. Hurricane Katrina
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused widespread devastation throughout New Orleans and surrounding areas. It caused about $125 billion in damages and 1,836 fatalities while altering the landscape of the area for years after.
A significant amount of flooding affected the area due to fatal engineering floods in the levees – flood protection systems. These failures caused most of the loss of life.
Around 80 percent of the city and neighboring parishes were inundated for several weeks after the hurricane, and most of the New Orleans transportation and communication systems were destroyed.
30. New England Hurricane and Flooding
Whatever you call it – the New England Hurricane, the Great New England Hurricane, or the Long Island Express Hurricane – one thing is for sure: it remains one of the deadliest tropical cyclones to hit Long Island, New England and New York.
The 1938 hurricane and flooding event caused around $5.44 billion in damages and caused up to 800 people to die. Extensive street flooding occurred due to debris-blocked drains, and up to 100 people died in Massachusetts from winds and flooding alone.
31. Galveston Hurricane
The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was one of the deadliest natural disasters in US history. The hurricane left up to 12,000 people dead, and storm surges up to 12 feet inundated the coastlines. The storm also destroyed around 7,000 buildings.
Flooding started affecting the city on September 8, 1900 and rose steadily until the following day. The combination of flooding and hurricane damage resulted in about $1.097 billion of damage.
If you ever need help with flood and natural disaster restoration feel free to call us at 1-833-WE-DRY-IT anytime all the time 24/7/365.
